The picture above is a medal I purchased. It shows a statue of Mary with Jesus in an oak tree. Albert and Isabella are kneeling in prayer. The proportions are not correct. The tree would be much larger, and the statue was only 29 inches high, smaller than Albert and Isabella. These proportions rightly make Mary and Jesus more prominent. The inscription reads:
Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Scherpenheuvel Bid Voor Ons
Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel Pray For Us
In the second half of the 16th century, a statue of Mary with the child Jesus was found in a large oak tree in a rural area of Belgium. The tree was on top of a hill where Shepards would sometimes take sheep to graze. Eventually, the statue wore a large mantle, perhaps made by Isabella. This type of depiction of the Blessed Virgin is known as a Schutzmantlemadonna. Translated as protective mantle Madonna. It was common in parts of Europe. The symbolism was that she could take you under the protection of her mantle, or cloak. This idea dates back to an ancient Marian prayer called Sub Tuum Praesidium, which translates to Under Thy Protection. There is a fragment of this prayer in Greek that dates to 250 AD. Pope Francis requested that this prayer be added to the rosary during October of 2018 for unity in the Church. The mantle on the statue at Scherpenheuvel seems to have been added later by Isabella. She brought the tradition from Spain.
The statue and the oak tree were located on top of a hill known as Scherpenheuvel, or Sharp Hill. The nearest town, Zichem, was 2 miles away. The statue became known as Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel, but residents of Zichem also claimed it as Our Lady of Zichem. Locals had a tradition of making a trek to Scherpenheuvel to pray for Mary's intercession whenever a family member was sick. Cures became attributed to Mary's intercession. Word spread and more people came. As word continued to spread, pilgrimages were being made from farther and farther away.
Mathias Hovius, Archbishop of Mechelen, conducted an official enquiry into the happenings at Scherpenheuvel and gave his official approval in 1604. On September 16, 1606, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, a papal indulgence was granted. More people showed up. A wooden chapel was built in 1602 and the statue moved into the chapel. Soon that was too small for the many visitors and a stone chapel was built in 1603. The corner stone was laid by Count Federik Vandenbergh. Soon this was also too small and the Duke and Duchess of the region, Albert and Isabella, started construction on a large stone chapel in 1609. They made an annual pilgrimage to the site beginning in 1603 and would stay for 9 days each time. They had the financial resources to build a beautiful chapel.
Some pilgrims were taking bits of the tree home as souvenirs. Some were even claiming those bits of the tree had healing power. The Archbishop had the oak tree chopped down. Sounds like St. Boniface. Indeed, they made the same connection and today there is a statue of St. Boniface in the Chapel. Archbishop Hovius went one step further. He had the tree cut up and then had those blocks of wood carved into statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These were then distributed to parishes all over the region. This further spread the devotion and fame. These statues were considered very special because they were made of "Montague wood". Montague is French for sharp hill. Part of Belgium speaks Flemish, a Dutch dialect, and the rest speaks French. To the French speakers the statue became known as Notre Dame de Montague. To the Dutch it was Onze Lieve Vrouw van Scherpenheuvel. (In many parts of Belgium, Mary was known as Onze Lieve Vrouw van Troost. Troost meaning consolation. The Carmelites in Vilvoorde and the Augustinians in Heverlee were using that title in the 1300s. I hope to eventually write a bit about that and make a connection to Scherpenheuvel.)
The large stone chapel had seven sides and a dome. Each side had artwork depicting one of the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Beautiful paintings were commissioned by the Dutch master Theodore van Loon. Wonderful statues were made depicting various saints. This magnificent artwork made the site an even more popular destination. The local priests could not take care of the spiritual needs of all the visitors and so the Bishop assigned a group of Oratorians to the site. They built their living quarters next to the chapel. The Oratorians were an order of priests founded by St. Philip Neri. St. Philip Neri promoted devotion to Mary. Here is a quote from St. Philip Neri: "My little children, be devout to Mary: I know what I am saying! Be devout to Mary!" (2007 edition of Knights of Columbus prayer book printed in Belgium, page 26. Imprimatur Bishop William Lori.)
A fortified town was designed and built around the chapel.
Cardinal Charles of Lorraine founded a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel at the Jesuit novitiate at the town of Nancy, in the region of Lorraine. Today, because borders have changed, Nancy is in France, just south of Luxembourg. When Charles died in 1607, his sister, Antoinette, commissioned an altar piece depicting the Duke and Duchess praying before the statue at Scherpenheuvel.
The French Calvinist are making inroads into what is now the French speaking part of Belgium. They are telling people they don't need the Catholic church, indulgences are a scam, you don't need to confess your sins to a priest, etc. They are claiming to represent the original Christian religion before the big, bad Catholic church corrupted it. They are doing well and making converts. Then they made a big mistake. They started ridiculing the Marian devotion in the region. You don't go making fun of a person's mother. The locals were convinced that family members and friends had been healed by God after Mary had interceded for them. They relied on Mary's intercession when afflicted. Marian devotion helped the region remain staunchly Catholic.
Links to information and pictures from Scherpenheuvel:
https://www.okv.be/artikel/scherpenheuvel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Our_Lady_of_Scherpenheuvel
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Scherpenheuvel
https://web.archive.org/web/20120207110856/http://www.religieuserfgoed.be/site/871.html
Personal note. Scherpenheuvel is 7 miles from Houwaart, where my Great Grandparents lived in Belgium. On May 2, 1922 the shrine was raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope Pious XI. On November 19, 1924 my Great Grandparents boarded a ship to America that left from Antwerp. Tremelo, Belgium is the birthplace of St. Damian of Moloki. Tremelo is 15 miles from Houwaart and Vilvoorde is 33 miles from Scherpenheuvel.
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